Santa Monica East All-Stars Rally Past Culver City

There were plenty of game balls to go around after Santa Monica East came from behind to defeat Culver City 10-5 in its opening game of the Little League Baseball District 25 All-Star Tournament on Tuesday evening in Ladera Heights.

Santa Monica trailed 3-0 after two innings and 4-2 after three innings before batting around in the fourth and scoring five runs on its way to a 10-5 victory.

"I think the boys were a little tight in the beginning, but nothing this team does surprises me," manager John Solberg said. "There's a real togetherness on this team. There are so many plays you can point to. We hit the ball well and every player contributed." 

Starting pitcher Brandon Iglesias threw 86 pitches in four innings, allowing five runs with three strikeouts and reliever Nick Solberg did not allow a run over the final two innings.

Marcus Gee led off the third inning with a double and, after an error put runners at the corners, Iglesias doubled to score Gee. Joey Recinos followed with a base hit to score Owen Hallinan and Santa Monica was back in the game, 3-2. 

In the bottom of the third, Culver City took a 4-2 on Jared Espinosa's RBI single, setting the stage for the top of the fourth when Santa Monica sent 10 batters to the plate.

"Brandon [Iglesias] did a super job of pitching out of jams and keeping us in the game," John Solberg said. "Then, it was our subs who came in and got that rally going in the fourth."

Iglesias singled with two outs to score Andrew Houston and tie the game 4-4, Nik Trapani scored on an infield single, then Nick Solberg singled to right to score two more runs and suddenly Santa Monica was ahead 7-4.

After Culver City got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Espinosa, Gee fielded a base hit in left field and fired a bullet to catcher Jared Goldman, who tagged out Espinosa at home plate to end the inning and preserve Santa Monica's 7-5 lead.

"That was just a great throw by Marcus and a great job of getting into position by Jared," John Solberg said. "Plays like that are momentum changers." 

With two outs in the fifth, Goldman scored from third on a wild pitch and Santa Monica again had a three-run cushion. 

Recinos hit a two-run home run well beyond the left-center field fence in the top of the sixth to give Santa Monica a commanding five-run lead. 

"Right before I went up to bat he told me to hit one out of the park," Recinos said of his manager's instructions. "After two pitches I did exactly what he told me to do. When I got back to the dugout everyone was saying 'We called it.'"

It was the ninth homer this season and first as an all-star for Recinos, who hit five with the Angels in league play and three for his LA Baseball Academy travel  team. 

"I think it was a fastball," the 11-year-old said of his latest round-tripper. "At first I thought it would hit the top of the fence but then I saw it land on the grass on the other side."

With a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Michael Finkelstein fielded a soft grounder and tossed to Recinos at first for the final out. 

"This is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever been a part of," John Solberg said. "Now we have to get ready for Friday."

Santa Monica moves on to the semifinals of the winner's bracket, where it will play Malibu at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Malibu beat Wrigley 6-0 Monday.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica West beat Culver Marina 9-3 in its opener Sunday and plays Ladera at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Ladera Little League fields. 

In the 11-12 division, Santa Monica West lost to Ladera 16-7 Tuesday and will play North Venice in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Culver City.

Santa Monica East bounced back from its opening-round loss to North Venice to defeat Culver Marina 4-1 Monday. Santa Monica East plays Malibu in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, also in Culver City.

In the 9-10 division, Santa Monica East bounced back from an opening-round 9-5 loss to West LA with a 10-0 rout of Malibu on Monday and continues elimination play against City of Angels on July 9 in Ladera Heights. 

Meanwhile, Santa Monica West is still in the winner's bracket after an 8-1 victory over Malibu last Saturday. Santa Monica West faces Culver City at 6 p.m. Thursday.